The Plan to Kill Aryll
by Deadly Raptor
Summary: Link discovers a new and mysterious item at Outset. A band of villains seeks to get it from him the non violent way, but when he denies them, they threaten to kill Ayrll. Twoshot.
1. Pearl or Girl

**Now before we get to the actual story, let me start out by answering the first question that comes to mind when reading the description; yes, this is an AU (alternate universe) fic. All of the events of Wind Waker happened like normal, but instead of them shoving off to find the new Hyrule at the end, Link settles back down on Outset to ensure that it is protected from any evil that may arise again, believing he'll be united with a weapon of pure good (like the master sword) when the time is right. Meanwhile, Tetra and her pirates go on about on their never ending quest for treasure.**

**This whole thing is based on a comic I drew years ago, so I hope you enjoy.**

**Oh, and sorry if Aryll _might_ strike you as OOC at any point in the story. It's slightly difficult for me to fully nail down her personality because we really don't see her that much in the game. I just tried to make her seem more eight-year-old-ish.**

_The hungry predators of raw evil refuse to have mercy on even the purest of goods. You have done nothing wrong, and you're linked to the ambassador of all things admirable by blood. But your young life is hanging over the pit of death by a withering thread, and the predators are fixated on severing it. But The Hero of Time will put all he has at stake to make sure they don't catch you in their icy claws._

_But you must not be completely reliant, or else they can still catch you. And if they catch you, they will kill you._

The day was very young, and the sun was beautiful. There were no clouds in the sky at all, and the islanders on Outset cheerfully went about on their business. Since the smiting the evil, a few villagers could swear that if you listened hard enough, you could hear the gods sighing in relief at Ganon's death. The proud ocean that concealed the retired Hyrule and all of its inhabitants were safe from the snare of the damnable.

For now.

While Grandma Smith was making some porridge in the house, little Aryll was at her lookout playing with a sword (wooden, of course). "I'm gonna be just like my big brother!" she chanted, swinging her sword through the air and occasionally using the support beam as a target. Link watched her from the top of the large cliff. He couldn't help but feel very, very flattered at the sight of his younger sibling imitating him. If he had a mirror, he'd check to see if he was blushing. He wondered for a few moments if Aryll would've taken the Master Sword for her practice if it wasn't on the ocean floor, but he came to the conclusion that she wouldn't be foolish enough to use an actual, dangerous weapon. Same went for the other battle or otherwise (somehow) dangerous items he still had with him (which were the bow & arrows, grappling hook, hookshot, deku leaf, and boomerang, as everything else was either used up or possibly forgotten). Grandma would have a fit, anyway.

Aryll stopped for a second to think about the other moves that Orca had mentioned teaching Link, then the next technique came to mind: the hurricane spin!

Aryll held onto the sword with both hands and started to spin around wildly. The nearby gulls took off to avoid getting smacked. Of course, she couldn't do it effectively like Link, so her "weapon" went in crooked circles and she had no control over her direction. In mere seconds, the sword flew out of her grip and landed in the ocean with a splash. Aryll let out a "bah!".

She picked up her telescope and looked down below, on the west side of the lookout. She spotted her sword floating on the surface, drifting away. Link, who had seen the whole thing, was on his way down the slanted pathway. He called to Aryll, telling her that he was about to get it.

Link jogged past the lookout and over to the small "pier". Once there, he got into his boat (whose eyes were closed) and started sailing in the direction Aryll's "toy". The wind was softly blowing east, so he didn't need to use his Wind Waker to adjust it. He got to the spot he saw the wooden sword land in under a minute, but there was nothing there...

"It drifted over there, Big Brother!" she shouted while pointing along the side of the island. Link went in that direction to get it. Soon, he found what he was looking for!

He picked it up, but something suddenly prompted him to freeze. He looked up and saw some strange markings on the rocky side of the "wall" that separated the hill path from the ocean. Come to think of it, he had never been on the east side of the island before, at least not by sea. Curios, he got closer and saw they were actually... marks that resembled arrows! Link looked at the sky, wondering whether he should go back or do what he thought the message was requesting.

...

_Five minutes earlier._

A strange, purple pterodactyl type creature with a head not unlike that of a raptor flew in from South of Outset, a place that Link had never ventured into before. He landed on one of the cliffs below the newly repaired bridge. He looked left, then right, then sighed. He was only slightly larger than a seagull.

"What am I even doing here?" he asked himself with a very disappointed look on his face.

_"Alright Merdak, I've come to give you the boss's orders."_

_"Is this about the whole pearl thing?"_

_"Ding!"_

_"How do we even know that's not a myth?"_

_"Look, we have our ways of knowing fact from fiction. Since you're the one with the wings, we want you to hang out at Outset for awhile and spy on some people, maybe. Just keep an eye out for any signs of the Pearl of Dreams. According to the legend, said island is home to our little ace. The supposed Hero of Time lives there too, so watch him in particular!"_

_"Why don't we go after something that isn't based on a fairytale?"_

_"Why don't you ask that to the boss's face?"_

_Merdak gulped once, suddenly changing his mind. He braced himself and jumped out the window, flying away into the distance._

_"And make sure you aren't spotted by anyone!"_

Merdak groaned out loud, thinking of this situation as nothing but a wild goose chase. And for the first tie in his life, he began to question his cohorts' authority.

And then he saw the famous hero running down the pathway.

"What the-?!"

Merdak blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't imagining things. He figured Tora was kidding when he said the Hero of Time was here!

"Link..." he muttered, still very surprised. He continued to keep his eyes on the boy until he sailed behind the island.

"Looks like now's my chance!"

Merdak leapt off the cliff and soared to Link's position from the other end, to avoid being seen by Aryll who he had noticed before. The moment he saw Link and his ship right next to the island, he froze and hovered. He needed to stay close, but not too close.

And then it happened.

Link pulled out his Wind Waker and practiced a song according to the markings. Once he perfected it, he played it smoothly and things all came together.

The arrows glowed and the section of the rock shook. A small, rectangular cutout dislodged from the rest of the mass and sank below the sea, revealing the item inside. He reached in a pulled out...

...a golden pearl with a red spot on it.

"No... way..."

Merdak said those words as his jaw dropped, but his shocked expression slowly transformed into an eerie smile.

"Things just got interesting."

And with that, he spun around the flew back to where he came from.

...

Night had fallen, and Link had been sitting in the forest trying to learn about the very strange object he had happened upon. He had actually put it away before going back to Aryll, because he didn't want anyone besides him to know about it. He knew his Grandma would worry about him messing with unidentified objects. He didn't want to do it in an open location either, fearing that if he triggered something big, it would attract some unwanted attention.

But he had spent ten seconds trying to force something out of the orb, but only a few meagre sparkles ever occurred. Perplexed, he racked his brain to see if he could think of a solution to this. Did he have any items that didn't work unless he added a special addition?

The answer came right to him!

Link dug through his tunic, shuffling around the various nic-nacs he had on him. Success! He pulled out a vile of magic potion and was quick to drink it. Feeling the magic fusing with his being, he lifted the pearl once more and pumped the green energy into it.

The pearl lit up and fired a glowing bolt of energy that struck a tree, which started to glow itself afterwards. The force rebounded and shook the orb before it was processed into Link's mind.

"A tree. The manifestation of the Earth's lungs."

A voice spoke those words in his head just before a large tree sprouted in his imagination. It stood proudly as leaves and fruit grew out of it, and the roots crept further and further into the ground, but then, a fire sparked seemingly out of nowhere at its base and reduced the whole tree to ash in seconds. The process repeated; each time the tree was destroyed by some other force, like termites, an axe and even several beavers. After this was all over, he flashed back into reality and everything stopped glowing. Link was shocked, not only because of what had happened, but because of how much magic it cost him. He could only feel a little left in him. This was unlike anything he ever encountered. But what exactly was the function? Did it reveal the downfalls of everything he used it on? Or was it something else?

"Impressed, aren't we?"

Link spun around in shock and saw someone walking out of the shadows.

"Name's Tora, and I'd like to announce my reques-..., nay, my demand."

...

_Ten minutes earlier._

"You've done very well, Merdak. You may rest, the next task is for Tora."

"What be it?"

"Wake up your wyvern, it's time for you to deliver a little message to Link."

"Message?"

"Indeed. Fill him in that we want the nice little treasure he has found."

"How do you want it to be delivered?"

"I don't care, just make sure you tell him. So long as you don't take any violent course of action. If he's really what he's cracked up to be, he'll be more than a match for you."

"And if he refuses?"

"Tell him that if he isn't willing to give up that pearl by the following night, which is when you and me will see him..."

"Yes?"

"You know his little sister? Arila?

"Aryll."

"Right. Tell him that if so-and-so isn't done by tomorrow night, she's as good as murdered."

"It's a trip!"

With those last words, Tora went to his room balcony to awaken his wyvern, then mounted him. And, faster than you'd think, they were in the air. Tora was about the size of Aryll herself, and the wyvern was just large enough to carry him. Although Tora was evil, you may or may not have been able to tell simply by looking at him. In fact, he loosely resembled a chao. But the differences were that he had a pair of vampire-like fangs, a pitch black lizard-like tail, no point on the tip of his head (note that he wears a gray felt hat), non-round hands with fingers (and retractable claws), slightly longer arms, longer (and visible) legs, large crystal blue pupils and retractable foot claws (though he had no toes). All of him besides his tail and eyes was grey, along with a large blue spot on his belly, and his claws were pure white. He obviously lacked wings.

When Tora neared the island, he was very surprised to see a flash of light coming from the forest. He "drove" his wyvern into the canopy and landed near Link, just in time to see his little hook up with the tree seconds before it ended.

"I didn't think he'd figure this out so quickly..."

He "parked" his wyvern at the base of a random tree and walked up to Link, speaking the aforementioned statements.

"It's too bad that you've only unlocked a fraction of that thing's true power. But it won't matter, I've come to relieve you of your possession. Be a good boy and fork over what's rightfully mine."

Link asked who he was and why he wanted the pearl.

"That's not important right now, just give it."

Unfortunately for Tora, Link happened to lay eyes upon his wyvern. Link knew from oral tradition that wyverns were the beasts of evil. Turning his attention back to Tora, he held the pearl away from him in refusal.

"So that's a no then? You sure you don't want to change your mind?"

Link remained steadfast.

"Aight. Fine. But here's one last tip for the road. You'll be visited tomorrow by me again, and the one who sent me here."

He mounted his wyvern again.

"If you don't hand over the pearl then, you're sweet little sister Aryll..."

Link's shot up in alarm at him knowing his sister's name. How did he even...?

"...Will be as good as dead."

The wyvern screeched at the moon and took off, leaving Link completely stunned. Those last words had hit him like a sledgehammer.

...

After sneaking home, Link lied motionless in his bed, but he was very much awake, haunted by this threat. The very fact that he knew her name is what was getting to him. He rolled over and glanced at the basket he kept his tunic in at night, which was also hiding the pearl. What if they do come back? What will he do then...?

There was no way he was going to keep this a secret. He had to talk to somebody. And this somebody was going to be Tetra, because tomorrow was the day of her weekly visit.

He looked at the bed directly below his, where Aryll was sleeping. He always liked to sleep on the top bunk, but this made it difficult for him to see her clearly, so he got off and stood beside her. Aryll had a sad look on her face and was squirming slightly. She must've been having a nightmare. Link really didn't like seeing her suffer...

...So he climbed back to the top bunk and clapped as hard as he could. This woke Aryll up, but not Grandma in her advanced age.

The small girl peeked over the top bunk, quietly asking, "big brother"? Link had been pretending to sleep, but she couldn't tell the difference and got back in her own bed.

...

The sun rose for yet another day, but this time there was an overcast, leaving the island slightly darker than normal. It was afternoon quickly enough and Aryll was taking a bath. But Link, on the other hand, had spent the entire morning in anxiety, staring at the horizon from the docks, waiting for Tetra to appear. People asked him what was wrong more than once, but they were all met with nothing but dead silence. He waited, and waited, and waited. Seconds felt like minutes, and minutes felt like hours. Where was she? She was normally here by now. His legs squirmed back and forth over the edge, but this didn't help pass the time, in fact, it may have constipated it a little for him.

Finally, the ship came into sight. Tetra and her pirates were on their way. And boy, could they have not come soon enough, as Tetra found out once she got to shore.

"Link? What's wrong with you?" She had been watching him via telescope the entire time. "Why have you been sitting there staring at us like that? It's creepy..."

Now was the time. Link explained everything that had happened from the point where he found the pearl until Tora had left, trying to include all the important details and his exact words. Tetra, however, wasn't so sure if this was the real deal.

"I'm not so sure about this. How do you know that murder is really on their agenda? I've dealt with a lot of baddies in my time, and if I know one thing, most of them are terrific liars! This is probably just a scare tactic."

Link filled her in that he knew her name and that there were more of them.

"So? Everyone knows you and Aryll's names. After everything you did, it's a little hard not to."

Link couldn't think of any more responses, so he mentioned the wyvern.

"Anybody can get their hands on a wyvern, it doesn't mean you have to be pure evil, just a show-off. Did you know that a wyvern won't ever attack you if you're the first thing it sees when it hatches? You're getting worked up over nothing, let's go inside."

The two walked inside the house. Grandma wasn't there since she was gardening outside.

"Now, show me this pearl."

He pulled it out of his tunic.

"Looks about as special as you said it is... this is something worth holding onto, but I swear, Aryll is in no danger. By the way, do you hear anything?"

Link listened and he heard it too. It was some very faint wailing noise coming from... the bathroom?

They both went into the room (which was situated under the "second floor" of the house) only to see a horrific sight.

Aryll was curled up naked on the floor, holding onto her scalp with both hands and crying. She was lying in a puddle of bath water. Gasping pretty loudly, Link ran up to his sister to make sure she wasn't seriously hurt. Right next to her was a large vase, and though toppled, it was completely intact.

"Uh... Link... you might want to read this..." said Tetra, handing him a sheet of paper she found on the floor.

"Wondering what happened to your sister? Use the Pearl of Dreams to find out, kid."

Without a second thought, Link pulled out his second and last vile of magic and drank it, then started to active the Pearl of Dreams as Tetra helped poor Aryll to her feet and wrapped a towel around her.

"I h-hit my head on that..." she shakily uttered, still sobbing a little. Two seconds later, the pearl filled the room with it's glow.

There were no images in Link's head this time, only words.

_Tiny little innocence was getting out of the tub,_

_In order to dry herself with a quick towel rub,_

_But earlier on, winged evil flew in through an open window and onto the shelf,_

_And when Aryll passed right under him, giggling like a cute elf,_

_He grabbed the supporting wood and broke it with a single pry,_

_The durable vase collided with her skull and made her cry,_

_The reason why he did such a bad deed,_

_Was to make you take their past threat as a creed._

"Link, hello? Earth to Link?"

Link was thrown out of the trance by Tetra shaking him wildly

"Are you even okay? That thing flashed for a second and you stood there staring off into space!"

Link simply shivered. So many thoughts were swirling in his head right now. The first time he had used it, the pearl showed him several ways the tree could meet its downfall, but this time, it told him what had happened earlier in rhyme. What was this thing? He knew he also couldn't use the pearl again since he had no more magic.

And he knew now that they were serious about the death threat.

...

The rest of the day was... very unusual. Tetra had difficulty believing that the orb told him the past since he described it as being a minute long trance, even though it was only five seconds before she woke him up. Aryll had to get checked on by Sturgeon to make sure she didn't have a concussion. Everyone struggled to keep it a secret from Grandma since she may as well have dropped dead if she knew her Aryll had been harmed by an aggressor.

The day was not an easy one, and it was about to get a whole lot worse. Tetra agreed to confront Link's ultimatum-holders with him. It was off to the forest, their expected meeting place. When they arrived...

"Told you he would show up..."

"Who's out there?" This was Tetra asking.

"Well, I suppose at this point you and... whoever the heck she is should have the pleasure of knowing my name. It's Tora."

He took a few steps forward. Behind him was a man in a hooded cloak. He had a somewhat big nose and an almost blank expression in his eyes. His mouth was not visible.

"Say hi to my boss. Now, you're gonna give us what we want and you're going to do it now. Remember what I said?"

"I think you're bluffing", taunted Tetra.

Link, on the other hand, took this more seriously as he took out the pearl and held it in front of him.

"Come on already you, these guys are not the real deal!"

"Aren't we?"

The boss asked this in an almost emotionless voice. Holding up his hand, he unleashed a small ball of what appeared to be magic power from his hand. It struck the orb, which fired a laser at Tetra's head for two seconds.

She wasn't hurt. But she had a scared look on her face. She had just seen things. Awful things. Involving Tora and his boss.

"Link, don't give them the pearl! If you do, the Great Sea itself will be in jeopardy!"

"If you cared about your sister..."

"We'll all be sentenced either way, we'll find away to protect her, but don't..."

It was time for link to make a choice, and he was about to act on it.

Screaming, he ran out of the forest into the middle of the bridge, then threw the pearl off.

"What the hell?!"

Tora gaped as their desired item plummeted through the drop and splashed into the ocean, sinking to the bottom and out of reach.

"A very unwise decision..."

Having had enough, Link pulled out a bow and an arrow, aimed, and fired at the two villains. But right before contact, The Boss pulled a ball out and threw it down, engulfing them in a cloud of smoke. Link waved his Deku Leaf and cleared it in an instant, but they were both gone.

Neither of them needed to speak or even indicate at each other that they needed to go back home now, because that's probably where they were headed! Link jumped off the cliff and used his Deku Leaf to make a flying shortcut while Tetra sprinted. Trying to speed the process, Link let himself fall once he was over land and moved as fast as he could to his house. He dashed up the porch like lightning and rammed the door opun.

Aryll shot up and went "bah" at Link's loud entrance, but she was alone... and unharmed.

The next few days were nothing but hell. Both Link and Tetra spent day and night guarding Aryll, never letting her go more than twenty feet away. They only slept four hours a night as oppossed to eight, they only ate with Aryll, and they were emotionally ravaged. She had grown on both of them a lot. Neither of them wanted her to die. But during all this time, there was no sign of Tora or his boss. Had they changed their minds? They couldn't be sure.

On night four, Link continued to watch the door from his bed even though he had locked it. So did Tetra, from a mat on the floor.

But this was their time of vulnerability, as sleep deprivation finally got the best of them and they went out like lights.

"Finally", whispered Tora, peeking from the window. "I hideout here for four days and they finally let their guard down.

Knowing the door was locked, he entered via the window, thinking to himself how they possibly forgot to lock them too.

"Now, on with the kidnapping."

Instead of killing her on spot, his boss asked him to bring him the girl instead. Tora had dragged in a big box with him. Much stronger than he looks, he gently lifted Aryll and placed her in the box, sealed it, then lifted that too and made his exit. The extra weight caused a pretty noisy landing when he hit the deck, which was enough to wake Tetra up.

"...Huh?"

Tetra yawned and stretched as she got to her feet to check on Aryll...

She was gone.

Almost screaming, she shoved the door open and looked out right on time to see the wyvern carrying both Tora and a box away.

"Link! Wake up! Please! I think they've taken Aryll! We need to follow them before they get to far away! Link, please!"

...

_At the base..._

Tora and the boxed Aryll were alone in an empty and stone room. Aryll was desperately trying to break out of her box, the room being filled with nothing but thumps and scratching noises. She had woken up on the flight back and Tora had explained _everything _about the situation she was in. Her breathing holes throbbed with her kicking. In a few minutes, The Boss walked into the room.

"I brought the girl."

"Excellent... you've done well..."

The Boss opened the box and slowly lifted up Aryll by the collar of her dress. She looked really scared.

"So, you gonna kill her now?"

"I might need some time to decide whether to make it quick or slow. I wasn't bluffing about murder, alright."

"Big brother will come and make you all sorry", whimpered Aryll, who The Boss was now holding with an arm grip.

"Is that so", he asked, before he took out a knife and held it to her face. There was then a splattering noise as he held his knife back. Aryll had just urinated with fear.

"Eww..." mumbled Tora in disgust, shaking his feet as he wasn't very far from her. The Boss released his grip and she fell flat on her face, before shakily trying to stand up. She was on the verge of tears.

"You did start the tape recorder before I got here, right?"

"Yeah."

"Good. I want to send it to Link so he can hear exactly what we did to his sister."

On the outside of the small fortress, Link was swinging across the air with the help of his grappling hook and went through a glass-less window. He walked up to the nearest door and listened, and he heard voices! He tried to open the door as quietly as possible, but it was locked. Not knowing what else to do, he put his ear to it and heard what was going on.

"What's wrong little baby? Need your diaper changed? I feel sad now, do you want anything?" Link recognized Tora's voice.

"I w-wanna go home to my big buh-huh-brother!"

The next thing he heard was an impact and Aryll crying loudly. Link had to do something, and fast! Taking out another arrow, he mustered the last of his magic...

"You know, now that she's mentioned it, I forgot about Link. He may be on his way to intervene. Should I send a lookout, Tora?"

"Forgot about it, just kill the girl now!"

"...Right then."

Once again, The Boss picked her up with an arm grip and took out his knife.

"Big brother..."

He raised it into the air.

"Big brother!"

Right then, a burst a flame blasted clear through the door and reduced it to smoldering pieces as Link rushed in. The Boss was so surprised by this that he dropped both the knife and Aryll.

"You again! How did you..." The Boss couldn't even finish his sentence. During the brief stalemate, Aryll crawled away before getting up and running down the hallway.

"Oh no you don't!"

The Boss started after her. Link fired another arrow at him, but he turned back and somehow deflected it with a swipe of his sleeve. Link continued with a gust from his Deku Leaf, which blew him into the wall.

"I've wasted enough time as it is! Tora, deal with him!"

"You got it!

The Boss took his leave. Link tried to chase after him, but Tora intercepted him with a leap.

"I do believe you have a beef with me first!"

He held up his hands and detracted his sharp claws. Link tried blowing him away too, but he quickly jumped to the side and slashed Link in the shoulder, then followed up with an energized whack from his tail.

"Gah!"

Link spun around and kicked him away, then quickly threw his boomerang. It hit Tora square on the head, leaving him temporarily dazed. This gave Link to chance to entangle him in his grappling hook, before swinging him around in the air and throwing him into the wall. Tora fell to the floor with a loud yell.

"I'm not done yet!"

Growling and baring his teeth, Tora shook wildly before shooting a ball of compressed darkness from his mouth! It hit Link directly and the small explosion sent him across the room, landing hard on his back.

"Time to finish this!"

Tora detracted his foot claws as well, ready to slash him into submission. He sprang towards Link, seemingly in slow motion...

Right on time, Link pulled out the dagger Tetra let him borrow and drove it into Tora's back a second before he could make contact. Roaring in pain, he crashed into Link. The knife lodged into him, Tora was in too bad condition to continue. Link tossed him aside and went after The Boss, leaving him to lie on the floor while his blood leaked onto it. Merdak happened upon him seconds later.

"What happened to you?!"

Link was at a loss. After speeding down the hallway, he reached two separate halls! Which way should he take? He had to hope for the best... he picked the one on the left and started to turn the knob.

Aryll was in the corner of an empty room, scared and hoping that her big brother could save her, before she heard the knob turning.

Link pulled on the door.

Aryll watched as the door quickly opened.

Link looked in the room and saw...

Aryll sat up to see...

...Link was met with an empty room.

...Aryll saw the boss with a knife ready in his hand.

"It's time to put an end to this!"

Link's heart sank at what he heard next. His sister's ear shatteringly loud scream echoed across the entire building. Tetra could almost hear it from all the way outside, too.

Link hurried out the room and took the other passage. He looked around and saw nothing but darkness, then his eyes met her...

He walked up to Aryll, who was lying on the ground. He knelt down and held her up. Blood was leaking all over her dress and the floor beneath her. She had an extremely horrified and teary expression on her face. He glanced at the huge opening that The Boss had sliced into her body...

Tears streamed down Link's face as he held the corpse close to him.

**It's not finished yet, there's going to be an epilogue.**

**By the way, the paragraph at the beginning isn't relevant to the plot, I just put that there because it was supposed to be an integral thing Aryll heard from the Pearl of Dreams before the part was removed.**


	2. The Aftermath

**I actually posted this on DeviantART last month (It's was retitled "The Plan to Kill Aryll" there). I got a review that made me realize that I forgot to post it here too. So here's the aftermath. **

_The Next Day At Noon _

The tearful residents of Outset Island were gathered at the beach for Aryll's funeral. Link was holding the body of his younger sister, which was wrapped in a white blanket. Grandma was before him, with a wooden chest ready.

After he found her dead, he wasn't sure what else to do but bring the body home. Tora and his boss were gone, and coming back later to confront them seemed pointless since they had probably relocated by now. They had won this round.

This round.

Link placed the body in the chest, wiping his face. Seagulls were flocking on the beach, giving off cries that sounded almost mournful. Sue-Belle stepped forward to say a few words.

Little did anyone know that they were being watched from the bridge.

"Sorry to break the silence, but uh... is that it?" asked Merdak, glancing at his boss.

"Well, Shard? Is it?" hissed Tora. He wasn't happy with the stab wound on his back. The bandages and the cup's worth of red potion did little to ease the pain.

"Shard" responded, "Patience. We're not through here yet. I have one last bargain in mind, and I know he won't refuse. You see, the murder plan was just a small part of an even bigger plan."

"Part of a bigger plan? You mean this whole time, you knew we wouldn't succeed?" Tora stammered.

"No, I didn't. In fact, I was almost sure this would work, and if it had, that would've been a bonus. But what I did know is that if it failed, which it did, then we'd simply move into a different plan that enveloped the first plan and was directly dependent on the failure of the first plan to work."

Merdak sighed.

"You lost me at 'If it failed'..."

Shard glared at him for a few moments, clearly not impressed.

"I'll put it more simply then. This is a plan B that takes advantage of the failure of plan A. If plan A had succeeded, the girl would still be alive. But since it failed, we had to live up to our threat and so she's dead. But her death is the basis for plan B. Does it make sense now? Please think before you answer."

"Okay, okay, it does, but... what's the ultimatum this time?"

"I have the strange hunch that he has the ability to retrieve the pearl from the ocean's depths. What we're going to offer him for it is what we took from him in the first place."

Both his henchmen stared at him, confused, but neither made a comment.

Evening came. The sun wasn't completely down and only half the sky was dark, but everyone was either asleep or close, including the villains. Aryll's grave was positioned just before the beach; since the funeral, nobody on Outset really felt like doing anything. Tora was sleeping to speed up the healing process, Merdak was idle out of boredom, and Shard wanted to sleep on their next course of action. All in a distant location outside the borders of Link's sailing map.

Evening turned to night. The islanders that were close to sleeping actually were now. For some reason, everything was at peace...

...Except for Merdak. He was perched on the west "barrier beam" of the Lookout Tower. It was the same one Aryll used to grip as she watched the sea.

He was ordered once again to watch over the island; Link specifically. He was waiting for something to happen... to see if Shard's prediction would come true.

Before he had been sent away, he was told that Link would probably try to recover the pearl that he threw into the ocean, that very night. When Merdak questioned this, he was simply told that everything had been taken care of and all he needed to do was make sure it actually happened.

Merdak sighed very loudly, knowing that nobody would hear him. Why was he always stuck with the stakeout missions? He'd rather still be resting. Though he didn't exactly complain about the objective, unlike the previous time. He just wanted things to become interesting again.

Something caught his eye just then. Link was running out of his house! Merdak jumped from his perch to the "floor" of the lookout to avoid being seen; his silhouette was a tad obvious against the full moon.

He could only crouch and watch as Link ran down the docks and got into his boat. Putting his Wind Waker to good use, he guided it in half a circle around the island, sailing towards the area below the bridge. He equipped his Grappling Hook and dipped it into the water. Merdak's eye's widened.

When it emerged again, it was wielding the Pearl of Dreams.

Link gripped it tightly, as if he was ready to defend it with his life. A brief flapping noise caught his attention, but when he looked up, nothing was there. He set the pearl down and returned the boat to its original position.

...

"How'd you do it?!" Merdak asked, rather loudly.

"Keep your voice down."

"I gotta know! How'd you do it up so he'd get the pearl back?"

"Simple. I snuck into his house during the funeral and left a fake notice. That's why I asked you and Tora to go on ahead without me. The notice stated that he had not saved everyone from evil and that I was going to come back and dive for the pearl myself any given night."

"But... you'd drown..."

"Precisely, Merdak! I lied so that he'd think he'd have to get the pearl before I did! It was all a ploy to have him fish it out of the sea for us! I also figured he'd do it at night since he was first learning how to use the Pearl of Dreams in the forest at night, like he was trying to be secretive about it. The important thing is, it's off the ocean floor now."

There was a brief pause.

"But after what he did to Tora, I'm sure that a direct confrontation isn't an option, and I can't risk being seriously injured if our higher goals are to be achieved. So, I'd like to present my next ultimatum..."

Shard explained the rest of his plan. Merdak's jaw dropped.

"You mean..."

"Yes. I'm going to use this again."

Shard pulled out a ruby colored diamond.

"You remember the Diamond of Vibrance, don't you?"

"Yes, but... I thought you weren't planning on using that ever, at least not before you had all six Mystical Gems? The legends say that every time you use it, a piece of your soul shrivels up and dies!"

"Oh please, as if I have a soul. I don't think Ganon had a soul himself. Our beings were corrupted... no, enriched by the darkness of evil."

Merdak shivered, but not because it was a cold night.

...

_The next night._

Everyone had gone to bed early again. Tetra was still with Link; she knew he needed comfort in this difficult period of grieving. She needed comfort himself. Grandma was fast asleep, but the two of them weren't quite there yet. They were close to drifting off, but then...

_Thud!_

They both shot up. Something had just hit the window facing the small "cliff" the house was on, but whatever it was, they couldn't see it.

Their natural reactions were to, of course, get up and investigate. Link and Tetra were soon outside and standing on the balcony. They looked in various directions, but saw nothing.

"Link... Maybe it was just a screwy gull... We've looked in all directions and there doesn't seem to be anything... "

"Did you try looking up?"

Both their hearts leapt as they jerked their heads upwards. Looking down at them was Merdak, who was standing over the rim of the roof.

"Who are you??" Tetra demanded, barely keeping herself from outright yelling. Despite his involvement in the recent events, they'd never actually seen Merdak before and didn't know he was with Shard and Tora. Still, they were suspicious...

"My name isn't important. I've got something to fill you in on! It's about your sister!"

Link's eyes thinned. So did Tetra's, but they were both paying close attention now.

"You see, my boss wants to make another deal. He says he'll-"

Merdak had to make a rapid ascension from the roof to avoid a stone thrown by Tetra. He hovered in the air, staring at their now angry faces.

"I knew it! You're in a lot of trouble!"

"No! I suggest you listen!"

"I suggest you say your prayers before we-!"

"Before you what? I'm up here, you two are down there. Before you could get anything to shoot me with from inside, I'd be long gone!" Merdak replied with a small grin, acknowledging that Link wasn't wearing his tunic and therefore could not be concealing any arrows. Tetra merely growled. She knew he was right.

"What I was trying to say is that she can be brought back!"

...

Those words continued to echo in Link's head even until the next day. Merdak explained that, in return for the Pearl of Dreams, Shard would resurrect Aryll. He had until that night to think it over.

Link was sitting on the floor, crying. Grandma wasn't there; she was tending to the flowers outside. Tetra was sitting next to him, her arm placed on his shoulder.

"Link... you can't be considering doing this. It has to be a lie! You can't bring back the dead!"

Link didn't answer. He wanted Aryll back, but she was right; how did he know this wasn't a lie? But the risk seemed so very much worth taking...

"How could a round object cause so much trouble?" Tetra thought to herself.

Round object.

Round object.

Round object.

WAIT!

Tetra screamed that in her head. Something had just hit her. Something brilliant.

"Link... if it's really this important to you, I'll let you do it. But I have a plan..."

Link stopped his heavy breathing and looked at her.

"This pirate has a few tricks up her sleeve."

Link wasn't prepared for what happened next. Her face approached his, before retreating again.

She had kissed him. On the cheek.

...

As planned, Link had met up with Shard, Tora and Merdak deep in the night. Everyone was on the bridge, with the evildoers on the end closest to the forest.

On Link's side was Aryll's recovered corpse and the Pearl of Dreams.

"Put the girl in the center," Shard commanded. Link did as he asked and stepped back.

Shard revealed the Diamond of Vibrance. He chanted something in hylian before it glowed brightly, releasing a shiny mist that homed in on and engulfed Aryll's body. All signs of decay quickly went away.

"She's back now. You may check if you please."

Link ran up to her body and placed his hand on her chest...

...Breath.

She was alive!

Link almost couldn't believe it! It wasn't a lie! The cloaked man actually had the power to bring Aryll back! He could feel indescribable joy brewing within him.

"Now I want to make sure we understand each other. Don't try anything funny; keep your end of the bargain. I can kill her again in an instant."

Link complied and set the Pearl of Dreams down, lifting up the body and backing away with it. With a huge, wicked smirk on his face, Shard approached and picked up the Pearl.

But... something didn't seem the way it should.

"Wait... not all is right here..."

"What do you mean?" asked Tora, whose wound was gone now.

"I'm not feeling the same energy I do from the other Mystical Gems. It seems..."

Shard could hear a faint hissing sound. It quickly grew into a very loud one.

"NO!"

Shard couldn't even shield himself before the item exploded right on him. His smoldering self was thrown off the bridge and plummeted towards the sea below, landing with a loud splash. Then, silence.

Tora and Merdak had watched in horror. There was no questioning it; even if the explosion didn't do the trick, which it probably didn't, there was also the fall.

Shard was dead.

Tora stared down at the water for a few extra moments, before looking up at Link and baring his teeth.

"You... you killed my boss! We were going to rule this pathetic ocean land together with the power of evil! All that dark magic he learned, all that planning, the homicides I helped him commit! We only had three Mystical Gems left, and with them assembled, he'd be able to unlock the power to ultimately defeat good! But only he and his magic was capable of doing this! And you've killed him!"

He snarled in rage.

"You're not getting away with this! I'll get you and your sister too! Come on, Merdak! Merdak?!"

Tora looked to his right to see that Merdak was already flying away towards the horizon.

"Fine then! Keep flying, you coward! I'll handle this myself!"

Tora unleashed his hand claws. He saw that Link was smiling for some reason, which only aggravated him further.

"This one's for you, Boss!"

"Not so fast!"

He spun around to see who had shouted that from behind him. Tetra came running out of the forest with a large stick in her hand, straight for Tora. He wasn't expecting this and was easily hit. The blow knocked him over the side of the bridge.

"I wonder if he'll survive that fall," Tetra snickered, glancing at Aryll.

"Stop wondering!"

A wyvern erupted upwards from below the bridge, screeching. Tora was on its back with a wild look on his face.

"This isn't over! Not by a long shot!"

Those were Tora's last words before he fled to the distance. Tetra sighed in relief, as she was expecting him to attack.

"Well, didn't I tell you disguising a bomb as the pearl was a good idea?"

With that statement, Link and Tetra took the unconscious Aryll back the the village to spread the good news.

**Yes, there will be a third.**


End file.
